Thursday, January 10, 2013

Beginnings Blogfest, Internet, Dieting.


I’m a day late but I hope not a dollar short. I began my blogging journey in October 2007 with the fond hope that I could make a few bucks out of it. I had been to a seminar which had given me a few ideas so I thought I would put them into practice. Needless to say, it didn’t work. Although I had Adsense for a while, they eventually abandoned me, they obviously didn’t like what I did. I don’t know what happens because another friend who had been publishing an ezine for years with ads by Adsense was also suddenly dropped – he didn’t know why either. In his case his ezine was his only source of income, so he wasn’t too happy. I still carry ads, Amazon for instance, but I have never earned a penny from them.

It turned out, though, that I like writing a blog. I have written one almost every day since I started although I stopped posting on Sundays. I have astonished myself by how much I have written in the last few years and how many recipes I have found and tried in that time as well. Of course my first blog was about me. I thought about writing more about me, but I would imagine anyone who has been with my blog for a while knows as much about me as I do myself. Not only that if you were to follow the link on my profile, you would find out a lot of stuff.

Right now I am wasting my time writing anything as I cannot get on the internet, once again. At least we still have phone service. Now, though, when I call the ISP I get “we’re sorry all circuits are busy now” earlier, before Jeopardy! which I watch no matter what, I was waiting for half an hour. Once again they seem to be having phone problems at their end as well. Its enough to drive one gaga. I can’t do anything, let alone post a blog. Finally the internet came back on around 11:15. I was just about to pack it in and go to bed.
Having decided to try and lose a few pounds, although I need to lose more than a few, I signed up with FitDay where you can enter what you eat every day to keep track of the calories you consume. You can also add foods that they don’t have on their lists. I’ve been using it for a couple of days now. It is quite comprehensive, you can add your moods and your exercise amongst other things you can do on the site. Still got lots to explore. I got a bit fed up with all the ads on the free page so I upgraded for $4 something a month. I might say Weight Watchers used to charge $22 a month for their online membership. May well be more these days. WebMD offer a similar programme, but I entered a load of stuff, didn’t use it for a while and when I went back it was all gone so I was a bit teed off.

Talking of Weight Watchers this is a favourite recipe of theirs which we enjoy now and again. Another recipe with beans. No picture, but this is a nice one of a pork tenderloin.

Pork and Black BeansPork Tenderloin
Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
If you like, use turkey breast instead of the pork
Makes 4 servings

2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp hot paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
5 oz. lean pork tenderloin
1 tsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 Tbs white vinegar
One 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 carrot, finely diced (we shred it)
2 tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 tomato, diced
1 red onion, chopped
2 tbs chopped cilantro

In a small bowl, combined the garlic, paprika, cumin and salt; rub into the pork.
In a medium nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Sauté the pork until browned, 2-3 minutes on each side. Reduce the heat and cook, covered, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Halve the pork lengthwise, then cut crosswise into thin slices.

Add the vinegar to the pan drippings and simmer, stirring*, until the acidity cooks off, about 2 minutes. Add the beans, carrot and lime juice; cook, tossing, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the pork, tomato, onion and cilantro; toss to combine.

* If you aren’t careful and breathe in the fumes, it can knock your head off.

Have a great day
Jo

12 comments:

  1. We can't even do the Amazon ads here in NC because of the tax laws. When they changed to include online ads, Amazon dropped our eligibility to participate.

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    1. That's odd because the guy I was talking about is in Georgia. Maybe that's why he was dropped.

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  2. Wow, you've been blogging a few years!

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    1. Yup, just a few years Alex. On a daily basis too.

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  3. Thanks for joining my blogfest! Blogging is fun, even if you never make a penny from it. The connections and the act of sharing is worthwhile enough! I may have to try some of your recipes!

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    1. Glad to do so. Thanks for visiting. You are right, it is fun and the connections and sharing are great.

      I hope you find some recipes you like. At one a day, you should be able to.

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  4. Pork and Black Beans! Yum. I have to make a note to quit stopping by here when I'm hungry. And since 2007, that's been a while. I think blogging was still a pretty big deal then, wasn't it?

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    1. Try it Rusty, its good.

      I suppose. I certainly didn't know many people blogging then but once I started, I couldn't stop blethering!!

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  5. I love the sound of this recipe - have bookmarked it to try when back from holidays and off our low carb diets (although its only the beans we're not supposed to have)

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    1. I love beans so this dish was a good one for me. You say low carb diet, there are good carbs and bad carbs you know. Paula Deen, a well known TV chef here, just lost 40 lbs by cutting back portions, not changing what she ate.

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  6. That food looks great, but I prefer to eat yummy food other people have made than to make it myself. ;)

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    1. I've always said I would like a cook. But as I can't afford it and I like to eat well, I have to cook, or hubby does.

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